Dafne Schippers in action at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in London (© Getty Images)
Organisers of the IAAF Diamond League meeting in London are dubbing the two-day event ‘Rio in a weekend’ a wave of Olympic-bound stars have been announced for the ‘Super Saturday’ of the Müller Anniversary Games at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on Saturday 23 July.
Jamaica’s 10-time global champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce lines up in the 100m against world long jump champion Tianna Bartoletta and world bronze medallist Tori Bowie. Bartoletta and Bowie qualified for the US team after finishing second and third respectively in the 100m at the recent US Olympic Trials, both clocking PBs of 10.78.
British record-holder Dina Asher-Smith leads the British charge in the 100m. She will be joined on the start line by Asha Phillip, Daryll Neita and Desiree Henry.
World champion Dafne Schippers will go head to head with Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson over 200m. Schippers recorded the third-fastest time ever last year when winning the world title in a European record of 21.63. More recently, she retained her European 100m title last weekend in front of a home crowd in Amsterdam. Thompson, meanwhile, reduced her 100m PB to 10.70 at the start of this month when winning the Jamaican title.
The men’s shot put will be a four-way clash between global champions. Germany’s two-time world champion David Storl will take on two-time Olympic champion Tomasz Majewski of Poland, world champion Joe Kovacs and world indoor champion Tom Walsh of New Zealand.
In the pole vault, Cuba’s world champion Yarisley Silva faces newly crowned European champion Ekaterini Stefanidi of Greece and British record-holder Holly Bradshaw, while Olympic champion Sandra Perkovic will return to the scene of her 2012 success to headline a strong discus competition.
Orlando Ortega leads the 110m hurdles field. The Spaniard was the fastest hurdler in the world last year after clocking a lifetime best of 12.94. In London he will face the likes of British champion Andrew Pozzi and Olympic fourth-place finisher Lawrence Clarke.
Both the women’s 800m and long jump have a strong British presence. 2012 European champion Lynsey Sharp will face British champion and World Championships finalist Shelayna Oskan-Clarke as well as 2011 European indoor champion Jenny Meadows, who will be competing in her last ever major race in the UK.
In the long jump, world and Olympic champion Jessica Ennis-Hill faces fellow heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who will also compete in the high jump on the Friday night. World silver medallist and British record-holder Shara Proctor, world indoor bronze medallist Lorraine Ugen and recently crowned European silver medallist Jazmin Sawyers will also contest the long jump.
The British team that won gold at the European Championships last week will finalise their preparations for Rio against world and Olympic champions Jamaica as the day climaxes with the men’s 4x100m relay.
Double world, Olympic and European champion Mo Farah has already confirmed that he will line up in the 5000m against many of the athletes he is expected to face in Rio.
Organisers for the IAAF
2016 IAAF Diamond League calendar
6 May – Doha, QAT
14 May – Shanghai, CHN
22 May – Rabat, MAR
28 May – Eugene, USA
2 Jun – Rome, ITA
5 Jun – Birmingham, GBR
9 Jun – Oslo, NOR
16 Jun – Stockholm, SWE
15 Jul – Monaco, MON
22-23 Jul – London, GBR
25 Aug – Lausanne, SUI
27 Aug – Paris, FRA
1 Sep – Zurich, SUI
9 Sep – Brussels, BEL
